For Openers
 Northwestern aims to claim victory in Bloomington for the second straight season when it travels to take on Indiana at 11 a.m. CT Saturday. The cross-divisional conference matchup pits two teams hungry for their first Big Ten win of the year.

 The series between the Wildcats and Hoosiers has been as competitive as any in recent seasons, with the last seven games having been decided by a total of 26 points (3.7 per game). NU escaped Memorial Stadium with a three-point win a year ago and in 2009 came back from a 28-3 deficit to defeat IU, 29-28, in the largest comeback in Northwestern football history.

 Despite racking up 406 yards of total offense -- the most against a highly regarded Penn State defense this season--Northwestern was unable to put points on the board in the second half and dropped a 34-24 outcome to the Nittany Lions on Saturday. NU also registered the longest rush (Kain Colter, 46 yards) and the longest pass (Dan Persa to Jeremy Ebert, 54 yards) from scrimmage that PSU has surrendered in 2011.

 Senior wide receiver Jeremy Ebert has been on a tear of late, averaging 97.2 yards receiving over the last five games. He has topped 100 yards in three of those contests, giving him six such games in his career. He enters Saturday ranked third in school history in touchdowns (16), sixth in career yardage (1,880) and is five catches away from cracking the top 10 in career catches (142).

 Northwestern remains tied for sixth in the nation in fewest turnovers surrendered with seven and maintains a plus-5 net turnover margin for the year. NU's first points against PSU came after Mike Jensen forced a fumble on the opening kickoff, which Jeravin Matthews recovered to give the 'Cats a short field on offense.

 Northwestern flipped the switch on defense in the second half against Penn State, allowing just 88 yards of total offense and one touchdown in the final two quarters after the Nittany Lions compiled 293 yards in the first half.

A Win Against Indiana Would ...
 Be Northwestern's seventh in the last eight meetings with Indiana.
 Bring NU's current senior class to within one victory of matching the school record for most wins by a five-year class (34, set by 2009 and 2010 seniors).
 Move Pat Fitzgerald ahead of Ara Parseghian (1956-63) and Dick Hanley (1927-34) for second place (tied with Randy Walker) on NU's career coaching wins list.

Ticket Information/Next Game
 Northwestern's next home on Nov. 12 begins a string of three consecutive home games to wrap up the regular season. The Wildcats play host to Rice University on the 12th, and then will conclude the Big Ten season with Minnesota (Nov. 19) and Michigan State (Nov. 26). Call 1-888-GO-PURPLE to speak to a ticket sales representative.

Nebraska Kickoff Time Announced
Northwestern and Nebraska will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, Nov. 5, with the Big Ten Network televising the first Big Ten contest between the two schools. WGN 720 AM will have the radio broadcast.

(For complete game notes, download the PDF linked at the top of the page.)